After Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History, This River Is Thriving

After Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History, This River Is Thriving

June 2, 2016 - Conservationists can now point to the largest dam removal project in the U.S. as a success story. The ecosystem of Washington's Elwha River has been thriving since the removal of its hydroelectric dam system. Recent surveys show dramatic recovery, especially in the near shore at the river's mouth, where the flow of sediment has created favorable habitat for the salmon population. A new generation of salmon species, some of which are endangered, are now present in the river. Some hope that the restoration of the Elwha River will become a shining example for the removal of dams across the U.S.

ANNE SHAFFER, LEAD SCIENTIST, COASTAL WATERSHED INSTITUTE:It depends on the species, but we have a broad range and theyr’e all kids from infants to basically teenagers.

Seeing the evolution, is what it’s ended up being, in particular in the near shore, it’s been a dramatic transformation.

The near shore is a very important bridge between the upland and marine systems and it is a critical link between the two that kind of make both work. If you think about the Elwha watershed and the marine systems as being a house, the near shore component of it would be the nursery. And so it provides this wonderful little oasis of habitat and food and refuge. So it’s a very quiet place in a very tumultuous world

So I’ve been working in the near shore, I think I started my first conversation about the Elwha near shore were in 1995, so just about 21 years.

We’re going to do four total. For our second one, we’re going to walk up and around the corner.

We’ll see Chinook salmon, coho, steelhead, chum, bull trout. And all of those are federally listed as being endangered species.

The Elwha dam removals isn’t just about pulling dams for fish passage, although that’s certainly a big part of it, it’s also about liberating wood and liberating sediment and in the near shore those two elements are what make our beaches, they’re what make our kelp beds, they’re what make our eelgrass beds and those habitats are the things that are so critical for the function of the near shore.

There’s a hundred years of sediment that’s been trapped up in the watershed, that’s roughly the same as eight stadium-fulls of sediment. Now that the dams are out, the visual aspect of it is so dramatic that the near shore has actually become the poster child for entire dam removal project. This is the largest dam removal project in the nation, and certainly the first of it’s kind, so nobody knew what was going to happen. But the good part is that the ecosystem will be restored from this action.

After Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History, This River Is Thriving

June 2, 2016 - Conservationists can now point to the largest dam removal project in the U.S. as a success story. The ecosystem of Washington's Elwha River has been thriving since the removal of its hydroelectric dam system. Recent surveys show dramatic recovery, especially in the near shore at the river's mouth, where the flow of sediment has created favorable habitat for the salmon population. A new generation of salmon species, some of which are endangered, are now present in the river. Some hope that the restoration of the Elwha River will become a shining example for the removal of dams across the U.S.